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Then he became, you know, erred like spook of the CIA, so like, you know,

ever die a hero live long enough to see yourself become the villain.

Anyway, Donovan's first role is a coordinator of intelligence, which is exactly what it sounds like.

And every other agency, and not to mention the entire military,

hated his guts because he was stepping on their turf. But his office was directly

under the president, meaning nobody could fucking touch him.

So he began to lay the foundations of a spy agency.

He set up espionage and sabotage schools.

He established front companies, or age clandestine collaborations with international corporations and the Vatican.

He oversaw the invention of new espionage-friendly guns, cameras, bombs, like he's doing what you would imagine a guy like him would do he also

recruited agents and he didn't pick from like any specific group he just

scattershotted it based completely on your merit and if your background would be useful in such an organization like

intellectuals artists hardened career criminals

businessman actors artists, hardened career criminals, businessmen, actors, psychologists, aristocrats, and specifically aristocrats because he knew about from his time looking for speakeas and raiding him that-class elites tended to be a hive of gossipy bitches that love them forming on one another.

By 1942 his position was turned into an official spy agency, the OSS, and it was folded into the joint chiefs of staff, with Donovan returning to active duty with the rank of colonel.

And by 1943, the OSS on the ground as like an active

commando thing was in its infancy, lacking experience, resources, and you know all that fun stuff that comes with the dumb world of

commandoing. Right like they they have a lot of like the the bare bones like ideas

of what's going on but like no one's actually done anything yet so it's like we're doing

...